New York Giants re-sign Darius Slayton

Wide receiver Darius Slayton, the New York Giants’ leading receiver in 2022, will be back for a fifth season in East Rutherford.

NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo was first with the news.

Garafolo is also reporting that Slayton will get a two-year deal with a $12 million base value and incentives that could bring the deal to $16.5 million.

A fifth-round pick in 2019, Slayton wasn’t even a lock to make the roster before the 2022 season began. Slayton took a pay cut to the league minimum just to stick around.

But after the Giants’ top receiving threats began disappearing — Sterling Shepard and Wan’Dale Robinson both suffered ACL tears, and Kadarius Toney was traded — Slayton ended up leading the team with 724 receiving yards. He had 46 receptions and two touchdowns, despite not being targeted the first three games of the season.

Slayton also had more than 700 receiving yards in 2019 and 2020.

Art Stapleton is reporting that Slayton had offers from at least one other team — believed to be the Atlanta Falcons — and at one point it seemed probable that he would end up elsewhere.

But it looks like no one is as happy about Slayton’s return as the man himself:

Though Slayton is sticking around, the Giants’ receiving room has undergone a makeover this week. New York traded a third-round pick for tight end Darren Waller, released Kenny Golladay, and signed Parris Campbell and Jeff Smith. They could still look to address the position in the draft or the remainder of free agency.